The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released results of 118 National Assembly seats out of the 469.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that from ongoing collations since elections on Saturday, 44 winners have been announced for Senatorial positions out of 109 as at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
Eleven winners are from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), 32 from All Progressives Congress (APC) and one from Young Progressive Party (YPP)
Also, 74 winners have been announced by INEC for the House of Representatives seats out of 360.
NAN reports that 24 are members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), six from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and 44 from the All Progressives Party (APC).
Akpabio loses re-election to Senate
Nigeria lawmaker Senator Godswill Akpabio of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has failed to secure a return to the National Assembly. Akpabio, a former minority leader of the Senate, lost the election of Akwa Ibom North Senatorial District to the People’s Democratic Party candidate Christopher Stephen Ekpenyong. INEC Returning Officer Professor Peter Ogban noted in his declared Ekpenyong as the Senator-elect of Akwa Ibom North. Ekpeyong polled 118,215 votes to beat Akpabio of APC who scored 83,158 votes.
Also, results for Ikot Ekpene/Essien Udim/Obot Akara Federal constituency have been announced by the Returning officer, Dr. Daniel Udoh, the result is as follows: Emmanuel Akpan of APC polled 22,052 Votes, while Nsikak Ekong of the PDP polled 29,849 votes.
APC assembles legal team
While the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is hopeful that President Muhammadu Buhari will be declared the winner of the presidential election, it has summoned its legal team to an emergency meeting on the election results. The Guardian learnt that the Legal Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council convened the emergency meeting of its legal team on Wednesday, February 26.
The meeting convened by the deputy director legal, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Mamman Lawan Yusufari was billed to hold at the APC Presidential Campaign Council Secretariat, Herbert Macaulay Way, CBD, Abuja. A source disclosed that the meeting will deliberate on issues relating to the 2019 presidential election and issues that might require legal actions after all results are announced.
“Members of the Legal Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council are hereby invited to an emergency meeting of the Directorate on Wednesday 27 February 2019 at 4 pm,” APC said in a message to its legal team. The Directorate is to discuss crucial issues pertaining to the 2019 presidential election and prepare for any likely legal issues arising therefrom.”
Akume loses senatorial seat to PDP candidate
A former governor of Benue State, Senator George Akume, who represents Benue North West Senatorial District, has lost his seat in the Nigerian Senate to a member of the House of Representatives member, Emmanuel Orker Jev.
Senator Akume contested under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and polled 115,422 votes in the election held on Saturday, February 23. Jev of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 157,726 votes. INEC’s returning officer for Benue North-West senatorial district, Nicodemus Ochani declared the candidate of the PDP, Orke Jev winner of the contest.
Also the PDP candidate, Benjamin Mzondu won the Guma/Makurdi House of Representatives ticket with 50,454 votes cast while the APC candidate Terhide Utaan polled 37,743 votes. Commenting on Jev’s victory, Benue State governor Samuel Ortom said he has fulfilled his promise to Benue people to retire Senator Akume, noting what happened is the will of God.
According to him, “Have I said anything and not done it. I work with God and He has always seen me through. Anyone who plays God, is bound to end in doom. God can’t share His glory with anyone.” “This is how it would be during the Governorship Election. The tenure of a Governor is eight years and I will have my eight years. Just watch and see,” Governor Ortom said.
Fani-Kayode urges Atiku to form parallel government
A chieftain of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Femi Fani-Kayode on Tuesday urged the party’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to form a parallel government in the country if not declared winner of the presidential election.
“He must reject the results and give the FG an ultimatum to declare the authentic results, failure of which he will form a Govt,” Fani-Kayode said in a tweet.
After the announcement of results from 16 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it was evident that incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari was in the lead with over a million votes between him and Atiku.
Fani-Kayode, a former aviation minister, said the presidential election held in Nigeria on Saturday, February 23 was a ‘charade’ and should be disregarded.
Although INEC was yet to declare anyone as the winner of the presidential election, the former minister called on Atiku, who served as Nigeria’s vice president from 1999 till 2007, to rebel against anyone elected president if he does not win.
“The election was a charade,” Fani-Kayode declared.
Fani-Kayode argued that the presidential election results that have been announced were not a reflection of the votes cast by the electorates.
According to him, “If this charade is allowed to stand, the country is finished! Then the authentic results collated by PDP from the 119,000 PUs must be released to the public and the international community.”
“Atiku should now brace up to defend the choice of millions of Nigerians who risked their lives on Saturday, defied tyranny and oppression and spoke through the ballot,” Fani-Kayode said.
He also advised Atiku to mobilise the citizens to “order civil disobedience throughout the nation.”
Fani-Kayode is known to be antagonistic of the Buhari-led government and has been accused of taunting the government with different comments.
A day earlier, the national chairman of the PDP Uche Secondus said the results being announced by INEC were “incorrect and unacceptable” to the party.
“All results currently being announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is incorrect thus unacceptable to our party and people,” Secondus said on Monday.
The PDP on Sunday, barely 24 hours after voting closed across the country, asked INEC to announce its candidate Atiku Abubakar as the winner of the election in spite of the result not being centrally collated.
PDP’s spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan said the delay in the central collation of the presidential election results was a deliberate attempt by the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Nigerian government to swing the election in its favour.
“In delaying the announcement of the results, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu is allowing the APC to turn him into a villain and directly pitching him against the people,” Ologbodiyan said in a statement on Sunday.
“He should therefore extricate himself from the rejected APC and be on the side of the people, by immediately announcing the results as already delivered at the polling units and declare, the people’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, the winner.”
